Garibashvili's Remarks

On March 12, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian politicians who supported the recent protests in Tbilisi are interested in destabilizing the situation in Georgia as well.

"When a person in a state of war finds time and responds to the destructive action carried out here, carried out by several thousand people, this is direct evidence that he is turned on, that he is motivated for something to happen here, for something to change," Garibashvili said. Garibashvili advised the Ukrainian authorities to first care for themselves and their country.

Reaction from opposition

Giga Bokeria, the chairman of "European Georgia," responded to Prime Minister Garibashvili's remarks about a potential revolution by saying, "We must be prepared for a reaction following the Prime Minister's speech yesterday if the Putinist regime dares to carry out the repressions that he had announced."

In response to the Prime Minister's claim that the March 7-9 event was organized by the opposition with the objective of a revolution, Iago Khvichia, an MP from "Girchi," said: "It appears that they [Georgian Dream] did not grasp anything. The opposition is unrelated to the situation. The populace did not request that the government alter its direction. Although I did not observe any politicians discussing revolution, it would not be strange if they did."

 "Strategy Aghmashenebeli" leader Giorgi Vashadze also criticized Irakli Garibashvili for his comments. He stated, "We have seen how blatantly and cowardly Garibashvili speaks to young people, how he threatens them. No one is afraid of his threat. I personally warn him to stay away from any children and nonviolent protesters."

Mikheil Daushvili, the "For Georgia" party's MP, said that Ivanishvili implied through Garibashvili's remarks that they had not admitted their mistakes and were purposefully engaging in pro-Russian actions. He highlighted that the Georgian Dream's goal is to influence the 2024 elections, not to become a candidate.

Ombudsman on violations against protesters

Levan Ioseliani, the newly appointed Georgian Ombudsman, gave his first news conference on March 13 to discuss the events of March 7-9.

The Georgia Public Defender stressed that the Georgian Constitution protects the right to peaceful assembly and that a few isolated instances of violence or verbal abuse committed by one person or a small number of people should not invalidate the right to assemble as a whole. "Any intervention should address the aggressive behavior of specific individuals rather than dispersing the crowd as a whole," he said.

Ioseliani added that the protest was peaceful when the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs issued its warning in the late afternoon of March 7 and that there was no justification for using force to disperse the crowd. Ioseliani said that in contrast to that, the law enforcement officers started using special equipment against the participants in the assembly, including peaceful demonstrators, which contradicted the standard of necessary and proportionate interference with the right. The newly appointed Georgian Ombudsman did not explain which special equipment was employed. However, it is believed that tear gas, water cannons, and pepper spray were utilized.

"Also, several video recordings that demonstrate the reality of extreme physical violence against civilians have been published through the media," he continued. The Ombudsman also discussed the instances in which law enforcement officials injured media representatives despite the legislation giving them extra security when participating in an activity. "The tactic of mass arresting rally attendees on administrative charges was also extensively used by police enforcement at the same time," the official added. The Ombudsman claimed that there had been instances when this interfered with the freedom to assemble since it was not justified or met the conditions.

The Ombudsman emphasized that a specific mention should be made of the case of opposition lawmaker Zurab Japaridze of the Girchi-More Freedom Party. "Witnesses claim that many Ministry of Internal Affairs employees beat Japaridze up physically, striking him with their fists, feet, and truncheons. As a consequence, Japaridze allegedly suffered various injuries to his head, neck, and wrists," he said.